Have you ever been presented a sandwich you couldn’t get between your teeth … and once you do manage to tear off a chunk, you can’t readily chew it until you mash it down to a more manageable bolus? NOTE: Snakes, eels, alligators/crocodiles and a number of other species have hinged jaws that can accommodate extraordinarily large meals.
Hold that thought …
I ride a 21-speed bike (gears 11-37 minus #s 18, 19, 20, 28, 29 and 30). In my fair-weather treks around the neighborhood, I primarily use gears 22-37, depending on whether I’m going seriously uphill or wide-open down.
Point to Ponder
Who in their right mind would even consider peddling DOWN hill?
[More about that below]
Uphill is the main challenge, of course. And the uphill approach is critical; gear-down too late and you’ll be pushing your bike to the top! So how do you know which gear you’re going to need if you have to change gears before you get to the grade level at which you’re going to need a lower gear? You start gearing down the moment you feel increasing “drag” … and you keep on gearing down until you find the right “bite-sized” gear that allows you to “get your teeth – aka legs – into the climb” with sustainable, applied power.
Life is like that.
Sometimes life presents us with challenges that are “outsized” and unapproachable unless or until we can gear down to bite-sized engagement. (NOTE: Untended chores and responsibilities can quickly pile up to untenable – “larger than life” – levels, so not all of our outsized and unapproachable challenges are generated by forces beyond our control!)
Sometimes it doesn’t matter what “gear” we’re in, as long as it’s not REVERSE and as long as we’re not “idling”.
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
AA Milne
[However, the secret of rivers is this:
Rivers never stop; they’re always filling up and they keep on running!]
Additional thoughts:
· It’s generally not wise to simply “swallow things whole” – even if they’re “bite-sized”; you’ll likely get serious indigestion with minimal nutritional benefit.
· Only taking on what others have already dumbed down to “bite-size” will not “condition” you for the full journey. Parents, teachers and coaches go to great lengths to break more complex things down to bite-size, but sometimes you have to “chew” on them a while to get the full benefit.
· Expanding the capacity to take on and process larger and more complex “bites”/”bytes” with more “substance” is a key strategy for significant advancement.
o With repetition, I recently moved up from gear 23 to 24 on a couple of neighborhood hills – yea!
o [It may have had something to do with putting more air in the tires. But don’t discount the “pressure” to beat yesterday’s mark! Adding pressure to the formulation is not always a bad thing … if it’s done proactively with total intentionality and with the goal firmly in view. It also helps focus.]
· Peddling downhill can not only speed progress, it will make the subsequent climb a lot more manageable … and provide an intoxicating thrill!
· Sensitivity to and perceptive anticipation of increasing “drag” for approaching hills is extremely important in maintaining momentum.
· Side streets and easy paths will not get you where you need to go.
Bottom Line: No matter the size of the hill ahead, start bite-sizing, stay focused and keep peddling! Quartermaster
“Life is a scramble. If you’re not scrambling, you’re not ‘Making It’. If you’re not ‘pressing on’ or ‘being pressed’, you’re not experiencing a full dose of reality. The good news is that life doesn’t throw everything at us at once. The bad news is that it will do so eventually! And the more vulnerability we have, the more devastating the impact will be.” Pastmaster Present
